Out! Damned Spotted One

OWLS: During the 1990's, the federal government protected, 2.4 million acres of publicly-owned wilderness mainly in the Northwest, in an effort (among other things) to support certain endangered species. One of these species was the northern spotted owl. The Tree-Muggers have used this hapless owl as an icon ever since. It represents, to them, all that is wrong with environmentalism. To save a few worthless owls, progress is impeded, they say.

To boot, the current administration in Washington has not been sympathetic to either the owl or the forest protection plan.

Soon the woodchoppers will need another icon for expressing their contempt. They will be pleased to learn that the owls are disappearing. Maybe they won't have owls to kick around any more. In Washington state, it is estimated that 30-50% of the owls have died out in 10 years. There is a lesser decline in other states. This has been a result of a number of factors, of which logging is just one. Maybe they felt unloved and are just getting out of the way. Maybe they are moving to Costa Rica or somewhere else where the ruling government is more appreciative of its flora and fauna.
(Source, Audubon Magazine, July-August 2006)

FOOTNOTE:

...
Nature is sick at man
Sick at his fuss and fume
Sick at his agonies
Sick at his gaudy mind
That drives his body
Ever more quickly
More and more
In the wrong direction.

---from a poem "Alone in the Woods" by Stevie Smith 1902-1971

*see whole poem here: ALONE